


Bloom

by SpaceGh0st



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Fluff, Future Angst, M/M, Stormpilot, Student AU, bc college kids, everyone's about the same age here give or take like 3 years, will def add more tags as the story goes along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5589865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceGh0st/pseuds/SpaceGh0st
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn's transferred to Republic University in the spring to start his freshman year. He knows no one, has no idea where anything is, and soon all of that will begin to change.<br/>fanmix: http://8tracks.com/ammy2371/see-ya-space-cowboy</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bit of Luck

Sometimes all you need is a fresh start in a new place, or at least that’s what Finn kept telling himself as he rushed across campus to his first class. He promised his mom he wouldn’t be late on his first day at Republic University, but alas he’s fallen back into his old ways.

It’s not like it was his fault, the alarm clock didn’t go off so once Finn finally awoke for his 8 am course at 7:30, he knew he was in deep trouble. By the time he was presentable, it was 7:50 and Finn had no idea where his Astronomy class was.

He rushed to the elevator, hoping that it had gotten fixed while he was asleep, but after pressing the call button 7 times he noticed the flimsy sign taped to the elevator doors. ‘Out of order’ it read in terrible handwriting that looked even worse when used by the thick black marker.

“Dammit not again,” Finn grumbled as he shuffled to the stairwell. He’d grown accustomed to the familiar smell of weed and appearance of paint that’s been chipped away along the railings. This was the fifth time he had to take the stairs for the past two days he’d been on campus.

The doors opened to the ground floor, and Finn hurried through the lobby towards the outside. Once he pushed past the door the dark haired man realized two things. The chill down his back was because it was 18 fucking degrees outside and he had forgotten a jacket.

“Well shit,” Finn said, rubbing his hand across his other arm in an attempt to warm up. “I hope Duncan Hall is close by.”

This of course, was Finn’s first time actually looking for where any of the buildings hosting his courses were, so he had no idea where anything was. Which left him wandering in the snow covered courtyard in an attempt to find a map, or something to aid him in his lack of whereabouts. He finally spotted some large object right along the edges of the courtyard, so Finn trampled through powdery snow to what he hoped was a map. Once again, he was wrong. It was just a giant glass covered cork board filled with posters about on campus events.

Unlucky enough for the 20-year-old, as he stepped back from the map-lacking board he trampled into another student walking right behind him.. Their bodies collided, leaving the man in the brown leather jacket on his back, with Finn on top of him.

“Oh god I am so sorry! I didn’t even see where I was going I was in such a hurry and-” Finn stopped talking once he realized his words were overlapping the other man’s. “Um, you go first.”

The guy had a smirk on his face as he replied, “It’s okay, I wasn’t planning on getting to Astronomy early anyways. I’m Poe, Poe Dameron.”

Poe lifted his arm out from under Finn’s leg to offer his hand in a handshake, whilst Finn realized that he was straddling the first person he had met. Finn leaped up from Poe’s body, desperately hoping he wouldn’t slip on the ice that covered the sidewalk—and failed. Now he was facedown beside Poe, his black shirt steadily being encompassed in snow flurries and his face flushing in embarrassment.

The other man chuckled in response to Finn’s clumsiness and carefully maneuvered himself into a standing position. “Need some help there, buddy?”

“That’d be much appreciated, Poe.” Finn responded, his voice muffled by the ground.

Poe squatted down beside him, offered his hand once again, and carefully pulled the clumsy man back up to his full height.

“Thanks man, I’m Finn, just Finn.”

“Well ‘just Finn,’ where are you off in such a rush to?” Poe said, not letting his grip on Finn’s hand go quite yet.

The taller man’s blush deepened when he realized they were still squeezing hands, and replied, “Astronomy class in Duncan Hall. I think the teacher’s—uh,” he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his recently printed schedule to check the name of his professor. “The teacher is Mr. Lor San Tekka. Odd name, do all the professors here have long ass names?”

“Lucky enough for you that’s also what I have first class,” Poe smiled as he released Finn’s hand, patted him on the shoulder and looped his arm around the taller man’s neck. He pointed towards the building in front of the pair and continued. “You see that building? That’s Duncan Hall. So I guess it wasn’t too bad that we bumped into each other. And yes, they all have abnormally long names here at Republic University.”

Finn was relieved that they were no longer holding hands, but felt a weird flutter in his stomach when he realized it was this cute guy’s arm around his neck.

“Well damn. Looks like I’ll have nothing but a mouthful no matter where I go.” Finn casually said when he glanced over to see Poe waggling his eyebrows at his statement. “Oh shut up you.” He shoved the shorter guy’s arm off from around his shoulders and continued their journey.  

The two had entered the slightly warmer building and Finn was counting down the room numbers until he spotted 203.

“Looks like I’ve helped another don in distress.” The leather clad man smirked as he pushed the door to the auditorium open, allowing Finn to enter first.

Finn was left with his mouth agape when he saw how giant the room was. He had heard that some classes at Republic University were large, but he wasn’t expecting a 300 seat filled class. Lucky for the pair, there were two seats by the aisle open a few rows up the stairs. Finn felt the hushed tones around the auditorium so instead of speaking, he just pointed in the direction of the seats, and cocked his head towards Poe. The other man nodded and the two slid into their seats just as Professor Lor San Tekka entered the room.

Class began and Finn couldn’t help but feel that running late today was actually the second best decision he’s made all week, the first of course transferring to Republic University.


	2. Of Jackets and Burritos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Poe make it through Astronomy class, and meet some new and familiar faces in the cafeteria. About 2.4K words of fluff.

_‘Wait, isn’t this class supposed to be about space?’_ Finn thought as Professor Lor San Tekka, or LST as Poe called him, handed out a syllabus, a take home quiz filled with equations he didn’t understand, and a calendar for the month, to every student in the room. All 300 of them. Well, Professor LST and the teaching assistant handed them out—since one old guy hanging out sheets of paper to the entire class would take up the whole course’s time.

As Finn was examining the papers, he felt a nudge on his left from the cute (noun here)—the guy that ended up taking him to class. Poe. Poe Dameron, the leather clad, possibly punk man that coincidentally entered his life. Finn raised an eyebrow and whispered.

“What is it?”

Poe chuckled and pointed down at his own syllabus. Finn’s eyes followed his acquaintance’s calloused hands to the doodle on his paper. It was a pencil sketch of Professor LST frowning on a rocket shooting off into space with the professor yelling, “I didn’t ask for this shit!” Finn couldn’t help but join in the laughter. A few people turned towards his obnoxious snorts, but he just kept on going. Once the two felt their sides tearing from laughing too hard the men stopped and stared into each other’s eyes. Poe’s crinkled at the sides from smiling so often; Finn’s as dark as the void of the space the two were slightly interested in.

“And now, I’ll go over the important parts of what this semester holds for you kids.” Professor Lor San Tekka said. His sudden piercing voice startled the pair, their eye contact broken and attention stolen by their teacher.

Before they both refocused back onto what their professor was saying, Finn leaned over and murmured, “That actually was a rather fantastic drawing, regardless of how much it made me laugh. You’re a really good artist, Poe.”

He leaned back and relaxed into his seat, hoping his compliment wouldn’t have been taken too awkwardly. When he glanced at Poe, Finn noticed the other man had a red tinge to his cheeks that wasn’t there before, like he was blushing.

*****

8:32 a.m.: Professor LST and the assistant had finished passing out all the papers.

8:39 a.m.: the plastic chair Finn sat in wobbled each time he shifted his weight ever so slightly.

8:46 a.m.: Poe’s syllabus was covered in small drawings of gears and parts that didn’t mean anything to Finn, but it seemed like each piece was important to Poe as shown by all the short hand and arrows connecting parts. Finn couldn’t help but continue glancing at Poe’s watch; obviously just to see what time it was, not to have an excuse to gaze at the veins pulsing in the other man’s calloused hands.

“Ordinarily we would continue class until 9:30 like we’re supposed to but, considering it is syllabus week, today I’ll let you all out early.” Professor Lor San Tekka said. “But you’re all still required to finish the take home quiz by next class. I’ll see you all again on Wednesday.”

The clamour of squeaky desks and conversation filled the room as Finn put away the sheets of paper in his folder, and shoved his folder in his bag amongst the rest of his things. He stood up, swung the not-yet-heavy backpack onto his back and followed the other man out the aisle and down the stairs to the door the pair had entered from. Poe wasn’t talking for once and looked like his mind was somewhere else as the duo strolled through the hallway to the front doors of Duncan Hall.

Finn attempted to not get separated from the one man he knew on all of campus, but pushing past college students in a rush to get **somewhere else** was tougher than he’d imagined. By the time he made it through and to the freezing outside and Poe was nowhere to be found. ‘ _Screw it, I’ll just go back by my dorm and get a jacket before I find my next class so I don’t get hypothermia out here._ ’ Finn thought as he trudged back the same way he came over an hour ago.

The snow was like a blanket, hushing everything it touched until there was nothing to be heard but the crunch of snowflakes under Finn’s boots and a voice yelling, “Hey just Finn! Where ya goin’ buddy?” Finn raised his head, a smile grew upon his face when he saw the familiar face of Poe rushing through the snow to meet him.

“Oh uh, hello again. I was just gonna run by my dorm and—”

“No you’re not. You’re coming with me and we’re going to lunch. Or would it be breakfast?”

“I think the word you’re looking for is called brunch. And while that sounds awesome Poe, I really need to get a jacket before I freeze like a begonia fair lady in Canada,” Finn responded.

Poe’s eyes lit up with an idea and a smirk took over his face when he suddenly threw his backpack on the ground and shrugged his brown leather jacket off and handed it to Poe. “Here, just take mine.” He noticed that Finn immediately started shaking his head ‘no’ at this, but continued, “I’ve lived up here for years, this cold ain’t nothing bud. You need this more than me, take it.”

Finn admired how selfless Poe was, especially since he didn’t need to be and said, “Okay. Thank you man.”

He shrugged into the jacket that he thought would be a bit too small but it was the opposite. Poe’s jacket fit Finn perfectly. Poe picked up his backpack again and the pair started walking together towards the cafeteria. He gave Finn a once over—more so three—and fondly gazed at him. “It suits you.”

*****

The pair slogged through the snow to make it to Flamingo cafeteria. Despite it being the smaller cafeteria, according to Poe, it has the best made-to-order omelets on campus. After each man gave his card to the café’s cashier, Poe began to show Finn around the cafeteria.  

“Now for your first few weeks you’ll probably freak out over how many different types of food the cafeterias have to offer, but eventually you’ll grow to taste how mediocre it is,” Poe said, pausing to grab them both a plate. “When that happens, give me a holler and I’ll show you the best places around town! If you’d like to I mean.”

“That sounds,” Finn hesitated; flushing when his fingers brushed against the other man’s when Poe passed him the other plate, “really nice.”

“It’s a date! For uh—future us I mean.” Poe chuckled nervously, afraid that Finn would take his words the wrong way. “Holy shit dude, you have to try their burritos! They’re handmade and you can ask them to put in anything you like. Not as good as the one’s on Hoth Avenue but about as close as someone could get with a cafeteria burrito.”

‘ _Anything I like he says? I could have fun with this._ ’ The taller man thought as a mischievous grin filled his face. “Yeah I think I’ll try one of the burritos then.”

Poe tagged along so Finn didn’t have to stand in line alone. Even without the jacket he thought that Poe still looked like a 90s metal band singer crossed with the adorableness of two baby sugar gliders. Once it was Finn’s turn he knew just what to say to get a laugh out of his friend.

“Hello Miss Caroline. I hope your day is going well, my buddy here told me you can put anything at all in those burritos of yours, so I’m here to test that theory.” It felt weird to be the one to take the initiative, but Finn was willing to try anything to hear that twinkle laugh of Poe’s again. “I’d like one, **bae** rito please.”

The lunch lady, Caroline, cracked a half smile like she was in on the plot of the century and told the pair, “I think that’s called cannibalism. I can’t wrap Poe in a taco shell without killing the poor kid.” Poe’s cheeks lifted into the biggest grin he’d had in a long time. “But I can make you a double meat burrito with the regular mix if you’d like.”

“That would be wonderful ma'am.” Finn responded, noticing his friend’s face had puffed up like he was trying to hold in an elephant stampede inside his mouth.

Caroline folded Finn’s burrito, placed it on a plate, and handed it to the man. Poe brought them both to a long table filled with empty chairs and the pair sat down across from each other. Then the stampede was unleashed. Poe’s chuckle started out low and gradually grew into a belly laugh that echoed throughout the room. It was a missed feeling of warmth that Finn hadn’t felt since he was 18, and something he hoped would be happening more and more often.

*****

After the pair had recovered from the laughter that had previously ensued, and Poe had returned with a hamburger, the table began to fill up.

The first friend of Poe’s that Finn met was Rey. She was also a sophomore, Poe’s best friend, and seemed like someone Finn could get along with.

“He made you get a burrito too huh?” Rey asked Finn, shaking her head. “He did that with me too when we first were becoming friends. Sadly _anything_ is left to only what they have in stock the day of.”

Poe’s eyes twinkled, his mouth filled with burger as he blurted out, “Finn actually asked for a **bae** rrito. And Caroline—” he paused and swallowed his food. “told him that she couldn’t make me into a burrito.”

Rey’s shoulders jumped up and down with laughter at the joke. “That’s a good one man, Caroline always has the best responses. So where are you from Finn? Major? All that basic college  jazz?”

The taller man’s jaw clenched and throat squeezed in anxiousness at telling others about himself. “Uh I—I’m from Starkiller Base. We—I moved around a lot, I think this is my favorite city so far though.”

Finn noticed Poe’s eyes widening at the mention of Starkiller Base. He looked like he had seen a phantom. The expression faded once a group of three people appeared aside the table. Each seemed older than Finn and his friends, about junior or seniors. The tallest was a man, looked about 24, wrapped in a black leather jacket with a flannel and t-shirt underneath. He seemed intimidating, but kind like he knew something secret about everyone else. The woman had long brown hair twisted into a braid. She walked with power and prowess, her tan trench coat trailing behind her. The shorter man had a similar appearance to the woman, like they were possibly related. He appeared a bit reserved but had a twinkle in his eye that showed how nothing could get him down.

He draped his gray jacket over the chair closest to Poe, and gave Finn a quizzical look, like he was a round peg in a square hole. “Who’s this guy?”

“That guy, is my friend Finn.” Poe snarked back to the man and then turned to Finn once  he finished glaring at the other man. “Finn, that asshole’s Luke Skywalker. Don’t pay any attention to him, he’s not important.” Luke whacked Poe on the back of the head at that statement. “Anyways, the badass lady is Leia Organa, and her companion Han Solo.”

“Ha, my **companion**! You say that like I had a choice in this stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder chasing after me.” Leia grinned as she insulted Han and ruffled his hair as he sat down next to Rey.

The couple continued bickering and whilst it was entertaining to Finn, it also fueled his hunger to the point where his tummy gurgled loud enough for Rey to snicker and shove his arm towards his food. “Eat, you’ll feel better. And it’ll shut up that stomach of yours too, so it’s a win-win for everyone!”

A scowl stretched across Finn’s face but he knew she was right. He started chowing down on his burrito, having gotten about halfway through until it began to unravel at the ends.

His mouth full of pizza, Han explained, “Oh Finn. You gotta know kid, you can’t trust burritos, because they’ll always spill the beans.” The group of friends groaned at the obnoxious pun, Luke shoving his face into his hands.

Finn thought the joke was pretty funny at least, and once they all settled back down he continued with his origin story. “Yeah, I’m a biology major right now, I really wanna specialize in botany though. I actually…” he trailed off when he dug into his pockets, hoping his schedule was still there. After an awkward silence filled the table, Finn finally found what he was looking for. He quickly scanned the sheet of paper, and found it. “I- I have botany tomorrow at 11 a.m. with Professor Boba Fett. Do any of you guys also have it?”

He noticed Rey’s face had lit up, and she excitedly stated, “Yeah I do actually! I have Calculus 2 that morning though, but we can meet up before and walk together if you’d like.”

A wave of relief washed over Finn at hearing Rey’s words of companionship. “That would be awesome. Thanks man.” She reached up and tried to give him a high five, Finn’s clumsiness got the best of him though and he completely missed her hand and instead whacked her right in the arm. “Oh shiii—”

Rey busted out in a snort filled laugh at his awkwardness. “Aha, You’re fine man. Happens all the time.”

Once the conversation was finally not focused on Finn’s existence, he got the nerve to ask Poe the burning question that’s been stuck in his mind since they crash landed into each other. “Poe, why are you helping me?”

The other man held a sad smile for a moment, “I was in your shoes not too long ago, I’m just a sophomore so we aren’t that far apart in age anyways. I want to make sure that what happened to me doesn’t—that you’re safe and feel welcomed. Everyone deserves friends, especially you bud.”

What he thought would have let him learn more about his friend, just left Finn filled with more questions than ever. But now he had a way to answer some of those burning questions with the help of a new friend and classmate. Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to post this guys! College started back up again and I struggled a bit with writing this one. But I think it turned out really well! I hope you enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments <3

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing a fanfiction before, surprisingly I never expected my first to be for two dorks in the Star Wars fandom but hey, life (and cute ships) happen.  
> If you notice any spelling/grammatical errors or anything that needs to be fixed, be sure to let me know! I've planned out at least 6 more chapters so be sure to check in every now and then. (My goal's to upload a new chapter every two weeks)  
> I hope you enjoy!  
> Contact: http://twitter.com/ammy2371 or hit me up on tumblr at http://bakingisscienceforhungrypeople.tumblr.com


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